Wahlburgers pickles are a product of two companies, the complaint for this class action alleges: Arkk Food Company, which it says controls the recipe for and distribution of the pickles, and Wahlburgers I, LLC which it says owns the Wahlburgers trademark and licenses it to Arkk. The complaint alleges that the companies advertise the pickles as being fresh, all natural, and free of preservatives, but that in fact the pickles contain sodium benzoate, an artificial chemical preservative.
A class and two subclasses have been defined for this action:
- The Nationwide Class is all persons who bought Wahlburgers pickles in the US, for personal or household use, during any applicable limitations period.
- The Illinois Subclass is all persons in the above class who bought the pickles in Illinois.
- The Consumer Fraud Multi-State Subclass is all persons in the above class who bought the pickles in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, or Washington.
The products at issue include at least the following:
- Wahlburgers Fresh Dill Spears
- Wahlburgers Fresh Dill Chips
- Wahlburgers Fresh Dill Chips Hot
Wahlburgers runs or franchises a chain of almost 100 restaurants throughout the US. The complaint alleges it began offering a home product line in 2021 that includes meats, bacon, hotdogs, sauces, and the pickles at issue. The complaint quotes the company’s website as saying, “As we expand our restaurant locations worldwide, it [is] only natural that we offer our high[-]quality products for your home.”
Pages 8-10 of the complaint show the jars for the three products, with the word “Fresh” as the first word in each product name. Page 11 shows a close-up of the label for one listing a number of claims, including “No Preservatives” and “All Natural.”
But the complaint alleges that all of these claims are false and misleading: “Testing performed by Biogen Laboratory Developments reveals that Wahlburgers Pickles contain substantial amounts of benzoic acid, which is often added into foods via sodium benzoate, an artificial chemical preservative designed to lengthen the Pickles’ shelf life.”
According to the complaint, sodium benzoate can be produced in any of three ways and “is then refined to product sodium benzoate, including dissolving the benzoic acid in a sodium hydroxide solution.”
No matter which way is chosen, the complaint alleges, the sodium benzoate is made “though a chemical process and/or chemical synthesis” and “has undergone a chemical change, so the sodium benzoate is chemically and/or structurally different from how it naturally occurred.”
According to the US Department of Agriculture’s Draft Guidance Decision Tree for Classification of Material as Synthetic or Nonsynthetic (Natural), the complaint alleges, this makes the substance synthetic and not natural.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Wahlburgers Pickles Contain Preservative Sodium Benzoate Complaint
January 16, 2023
Wahlburgers pickles are a product of two companies, the complaint for this class action alleges: Arkk Food Company, which it says controls the recipe for and distribution of the pickles, and Wahlburgers I, LLC which it says owns the Wahlburgers trademark and licenses it to Arkk. The complaint alleges that the companies advertise the pickles as being fresh, all natural, and free of preservatives, but that in fact the pickles contain sodium benzoate, an artificial chemical preservative.
Wahlburgers Pickles Contain Preservative Sodium Benzoate ComplaintCase Event History
Wahlburgers Pickles Contain Preservative Sodium Benzoate Complaint
January 16, 2023
Wahlburgers pickles are a product of two companies, the complaint for this class action alleges: Arkk Food Company, which it says controls the recipe for and distribution of the pickles, and Wahlburgers I, LLC which it says owns the Wahlburgers trademark and licenses it to Arkk. The complaint alleges that the companies advertise the pickles as being fresh, all natural, and free of preservatives, but that in fact the pickles contain sodium benzoate, an artificial chemical preservative.
Wahlburgers Pickles Contain Preservative Sodium Benzoate Complaint